A/N Part three of four.
It was… strange, to say the least. How odd it was to see yourself, but not yourself at the same time. Most Pokemon were probably used to it, but… she had never seen another Suicune before, much less a Shiny one.
Her doppelganger was still out cold, along with the Shiny Raikou, but the Fire-type was awake, lying against the floor of the Burned Tower and weakly lapping at a bowl of water the Kimono Girls had provided.
"...who-" the former Flareon tried speaking, but started coughing. When the fit had finished, he attempted it again.
"...who am I?" Suicune shared a glance with Ho-Oh, then decided it was for the best that she not talk. Thankfully, Father had done this before.
"You are my child," he spoke clearly, yet gently. No need to frighten the already confused Beast. "Entei is your name."
The newly-christened Entei looked at Suicune.
"And you?" There was curiosity in his eyes. Good. Better than fear, at any rate.
"I am Suicune," she paused a moment, then finished what she was saying. "...your older sister."
"...sister? I… I have a sister… she… she is…" he suddenly cut off, growling, or rather meowling, in pain. It was quite the odd sight, coming from someone almost the exact spitting image of the Entei she knew.
"Shhhh, it's okay. I'm right here, Entei," Ho-Oh's soft cooing calmed the new Beast, who settled into a somewhat unsteady pant instead of the pitiful meows.
One of the others started groaning, twitching in their dissipating sleep. Suicune padded over softly, making sure she was in the line of sight of the awakening Legendary.
Raikou's red eyes cracked open, a few sparks of electricity crackling at its fangs until it started focusing on who was in front of it.
"I am Suicune," she took the initiative. "How about we get you something to drink?"
It wasn't long until they had gotten the new Raikou settled with her Shiny brother. It was certainly going to be odd introducing the non-shiny Beasts when everything was said and done.
Suicune stayed next to her doppelganger, making sure it didn't get too cold. As she wallowed in her thoughts, the Shiny Water-type started stirring, paws lashing out weakly as it fought to awaken. A few of the strikes hit her, but they had no real weight behind them. She shifted closer, trying to share her body heat, and started licking one of its paws in a gesture of comfort.
It seemed to work, calming the new Legendary as it woke. When its eyes opened, there was already a faint spark of life to them, quite unlike the more tired and clouded eyes of the other two.
"I… you-" Suicune cut him off, if the deeper voice was anything to go by.
"Listen now, talk later," she insisted, nudging him to his feet. He had to lean on her for support, but she managed to get him to his siblings. Once they were all relatively comfortable, Ho-Oh spoke in a low voice to her.
"Look out for your brothers," she nodded. The last thing any of them needed was a hyperactive Raikou. Entei wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem, but either of them would only confuse the new Beasts more.
Bunching herself up, she leaped to various purchases until she was balanced on the very top of the tower, which wasn't exactly very tall but it would work. The Beasts of Ecruteak always entered from about there, so her brothers would have to encounter her.
Keeping one ear trained on hearing if her siblings were approaching, she swiveled the other backwards. She was only able to catch a few snippets of the conversation, but the Shinies seemed to be taking it well.
Turning her attention back to the outside, she could faintly hear the pounding feet of her Fire-typed brother. It was going to be a long night.
Suicune slipped along the winds, just ahead of her male counterpart. A test to see which of his skills came naturally. He seemed to understand the concept of bending the air for a boost, but his aerokinesis was unstable. Nothing a little practise wouldn't fix. Carefully shedding a few layers of air, she slowed until she was next to him, then expanded her bubble of calm to include him. He immediately dropped the winds under his control.
"You're already much better," not an empty compliment. He was incredibly adept at picking up the nuances and various tricks Suicune herself had figured out over the centuries, though that was possibly because he had a tutor while she had trial and error.
Her counterpart deigned not to answer, possibly because of how hard he was panting. He had much less endurance than she, but it was to be expected. He had a new body, and the residual energy from being resurrected was still making him grow, albeit at much slower pace than before, as he was much closer to her size after the week.
Dissipating the winds completely, she slowed to a trot, then finally stopped. They were already making good time, so he deserved the break. Looking around, she took in their rest stop, a cozy little alcove along the edge of the coast about ten miles from Olivine City.
"How do you- how do you run for so long?" he wheezed, taking a moment to lay down. Suicune picked up some of the seawater with Extrasensory, then tapped it with a paw. The salt and other contaminants were immediately expelled, dropping to the ground with some force. She floated the now-pure water over to the Shiny, who started lapping at it.
"Experience," she shrugged. There really wasn't much else to it. "You'll see visible improvements soon. You are already better than I was at this stage," she admitted, carefully excluding how her brothers were the main reason, what with all the times they'd interrupted her. Her doppelganger was about on par with her, just lacking experience and general fitness on top of adjusting to his considerably different body.
"That's something, I suppose," he sighed, still clearly disgruntled.
"Stop fretting, we're nearly there," she laughed, standing with him. "You can see the Whirl Islands from just over that ridge. I'm sure the Lugia there would love to meet you."
"How many more after this?" he asked as they started moving again, this time at a slower pace.
"Well, we've already visited all the places Father likes, the backup gathering places, where the Celebi tend to appear in Ilex Forest," she had been careful to avoid the part completely demolished by fire, but knew she couldn't keep him from it forever, "Lugia is the last Johtonian Legendary, then we visit Kanto. Raikou will take you to visit the farther regions."
"So way too many," he summed up. She couldn't help but chuckle at his defeated tone.
"It's not so bad once you know them all. Most of them are quite amicable Pokemon, except for perhaps the Birds of Shamouti. They don't stop squabbling until the neighborhood Lugia shows up." It was the male Suicune's turn to laugh. The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, which was filled by the sounds of the ocean.
Suicune sprinted over the open ocean at speed, struggling neck-to-neck with the Shiny Raikou. Both were kissing the sound barrier, hence their race taking place on the ocean. She had to admit, the Electric-type was fast. It wasn't too surprising, given the training the male Raikou had given her. That being said, she suffered from the same issues her Water-typed brother had. Not much finesse or stamina.
Suicune's opponent was breathing hard, fully concentrating on the bounding motions that carried her over the waved. Both were definitely faster than their current pace, but this was a marathon.
Deciding they'd been going for long enough, Suicune signaled for her junior to slow. They were approaching one of their objectives anyway. Raikou obliged, her speed creeping downwards until it was far below the abused sound barrier.
Glancing about to double-check their position, she slowed further until the two were going just fast enough for Raikou to stay atop the water. The approaching craggy islands weren't ideal for a stop, at least for Raikou, but they would do.
Suicune slowed to a trot atop the surf, while Raikou had to maintain speed until above solid ground. Just as she reached the edge of the waterline she flubbed a step, tripping on the receding water and slamming into the wet sand at a hundred miles an hour. Suicune winced, but that didn't stop her chuckling a bit. Her brothers had done exactly that on more than a few occasions.
"Ow," Raikou groaned into the beach.
"First time?" Suicune asked as she stepped onto the sand.
"This happens often?" a note of despair colored Raikou's voice as she lifted herself from the ground, evidently more embarrassed than anything.
"Once you know the timing better you'll be fine," Suicune assured her. Raikou grunted in acknowledgement as she attempted to shake the sand from her pelt. Granules went everywhere, but a few still clung.
"Stand over there, I'm going to wash the sand off." Suicune directed her protege. Raikou obliged, looking a little confused as she stood on a dry patch of sand.
"Wait-" Raikou's realization was cut off by the blast of water Suicune had prepared. Just as the younger Beast started reactively discharging electricity, Suicune cut off the jet.
The now sopping wet Raikou was glaring dagger at her.
"Is there any reason for me to not shock you?" The Electric-type asked in polite icy tones.
"It got your fur clean," Suicune shrugged. "If you build a weak charge the water will evaporate," she suggested, loping past so the the Shiny couldn't see her slight grin.
With Raikou dry, if not a little poofy from the residual static, they approached the gaping mouth of a cave.
"Who lives here?" the older Beast could hear the trepidation in the younger's voice.
"There's no need to be nervous," Suicune assured her. "Lugia is quite mild mannered."
Suicune stepped into the cave's maw, the new Entei a few lengths behind. She was glad she had informed Lugia of all three new Beasts, else the more powerful Legendary might have been unhappy with the extra surprise visits.
"Why is it so damp in here?" Entei asked, more than a little discomfort in his tone.
"The caves reach far beneath sea level - careful, the floor is slippery here - so seawater leaks in at certain points," the Water-type explained, carefully guiding the Fire-type through the increasingly deep tunnels.
The path to Lugia's nest was fairly straightforward, but straightforward didn't mean easy. The two Beasts came upon what could have been a shallow cliffside, a narrow path winding down into the large cavern below.
"Watch your step here," Suicune warned him. "This goes quite far down. A misstep can cause serious injuries, even to us."
There was an audible gulp as she stepped forwards, picking her way down the slope with practiced ease. A few moments later, Entei's heavier footfalls followed. He was going much slower, making sure his footholds were secure before taking another step. He was significantly more clumsy, that would take practice to fix, but he wasn't stumbling.
Eventually they reached the bottom, where a large pool of water swirled, agitated by the waterfall flowing into it. Entei stood back further than she did, dissuaded by the spray.
"Lugia?" Suicune called out, sitting patiently as her voice reverberated through the caves.
Nothing seemed to happen.
"Are you sure she's home?" the Shiny Beast asked. She silenced him with a flick of her streamers.
Again they sat in silence.
Then a huge shape burst from the pool in a plume of water, tossing the droplets in every which way. Entei flinched as it soaked into his pelt while Suicune just smiled to herself. Both Ho-Oh and Lugia adored their flashy entrances.
"It is lovely to see you again, Suicune," Lugia's smooth alto voice greeted her as the large Legendary settled, resting at the edge of the pool with her head above the surface.
"Indeed, Lady Lugia," the Water-type nodded respectfully.
Behind her, Entei squeaked.
Suicune couldn't resist a small smile.
It had been nearly half a year since her resolution.
Necessarily spent, but spent nonetheless.
Suicune dashed across the waves, half following a lead and half following her gut.
The second Suicune was prepared to take over her duties, which were also eased by his siblings. Her own brothers had joked they might follow her example, once they were sure the Shiny trio were doing well, so maybe she would see them sooner rather than later.
If need be, she was sure Ethan would let her go, at least temporarily.
Land approached ahead. Vermillion Port, where the S.S. Aqua was moored in harbor.
The indistinct dots spilling onto the piers rapidly grew in size, and Suicune instinctively slowed so she could more clearly see.
Pokemon were mixed in among the humans of all shapes, sizes and walks of life, and a few sharp-eared ones turned to see her enter atop the water.
Murmurs broke out as she stalled, searching for Ethan among the growing crowd.
At first it seemed hopeless, but-
There!
That backwards hat, the jacket. Ethan.
The Legendary let out a mighty ROAR, making the crowd back up a few steps. A few extremely disgruntled Pidgey flew off in a huff.
She made eye contact with Ethan, then burst off towards the North.
If he truly was taking the Kanto Gym Challenge, he was likely to pass by Cerulean. She would wait for him there.
A/N A bit of a filler chapter, but it is what it is. I needed to get this out of the way before I can get to the climax.
I hope I gave each new Beast a bit of a spotlight here, or at least enough to affirm that the two sets are different from each other.